


Tight Spaces

by commanderwoobie



Category: Red Dwarf
Genre: Comfort, Fluff, M/M, Season/Series 10, rimmer post his ace adventures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-30
Updated: 2013-09-30
Packaged: 2017-12-28 00:50:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/985676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/commanderwoobie/pseuds/commanderwoobie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rimmer's there to help Lister get his mind off the fact they're in a really small space.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tight Spaces

**Author's Note:**

> I've actually had this written in my notebook for a couple weeks and finally got around to typing it up. Um, couple things. I promise to write a multi chapter fic soon (got one in the planning stages) and if I wrote like a thing that was a cross over with Mass Effect, would y'all read it? It'd be the posse and original ME characters.

The plan hadn’t started out as bad. Had been a rather good plan, actually. A nice, sound plan.

Shame the simulants had to design ass backwards ships.

Rimmer sighed, looking down the never ending shafts yet again. They had tried to get back to the landing bay, but the ventilation shafts didn’t follow the corridors and they had become hopelessly lost. And since Lister was human, they‘d decided to take a break. Unfortunately, it didn’t look like the break was doing Lister any good.

The hologram studied him for a moment, noticing the trapped animal way about him.

“Lister.”

Dark eyes, rounder than normal, flicked to him.

“We’ll get out of the mess,” he said in an attempt to comfort. “We always do.”

“I know.” The phrase sounded more like a kneejerk response than actual optimism.

Rimmer let out a small sigh and shifted so he was sitting across from Lister in the tiny space. He had a theory as to what Lister’s problem was and he knew he needed to get the younger man’s mind off it. Brown eyes darted from him to the surrounding walls, but zeroed in on him as the hologram took his hand.

“Now,” Rimmer said, holding Lister’s hand so his palm faced him and he started rubbing tiny circles with his thumbs. “This isn’t something I do for just _anyone_ so consider yourself _very_ lucky, miladdo.”

Lister remained quiet as Rimmer continued to rub circles along his palm. The hologram was hyper aware of Lister’s body, the calluses on his hands, the tenseness in his muscles as his mind fought its fight-or-flight impulse. Though the scouser began to relax little by little as Rimmer made his across his fingers.

And he resumed talking when Rimmer started working on his other hand. “Where’d y’learn this?”

“My sister-in-law. Well, one of them. She was French. She did it for me once and I wanted to return the favor.”

“Yeah?”

“Mmhmm. We actually got on. One of the few people in my life who didn’t think I was a complete git.”

Lister grunted in response and rested his head against his knee. When Rimmer met his gaze, Lister gave him a sleepy little smile.

“Feeling better?” he asked when he finished with Lister’s other hand.

“Yeah…”

“Good. I’m going to see if I can find a way out of here.” The hologram switched to soft-light and poked his head through the floor of the shaft into a corridor below. He looked around for a moment before hearing a familiar high-stepping gait. Rimmer saw Cat and Kryten come around a corner.

“Please tell me you’ve found the landing bay,” he said, catching their attention.

“’Course, Goalpost Head!” the Cat said, insulted. “This nose can find _anything_!”

Rimmer rolled his eyes and Kryten started talking. “Ah, Mister Rimmer, sir. Is Mister Lister with you?”

The hologram suppressed a sigh. “Yes, Kryten. Give us a tic and we’ll get out of the shaft.” Rimmer pulled back through and switched to hard-light. He turned to Lister to tell him the news when the scouser half tackled him. Rimmer frowned and awkwardly put his arms around him.

“Thanks,” he said, voice muffled by Rimmer’s chest.

“For what?”

“Not bein’ a git. Well, for not bein’ a git about this,” Lister replied with a quick wave of his hand to indicate the shaft.

“Ah. I realize not everyone is as comfortable as I am in enclosed spaces. Hmm, good thing you were never in the _Wildfire_. Beautiful ship, but smeg was she tight.” Lister snorted and Rimmer grinned. “Now, let’s get you back to the ‘ _Bug_ before you do anything you’ll regret.” And as much as he hated to do it, he disentangled himself from Lister, shifting his body to kick out the vent.


End file.
